Sony to ship major PS3 firmware update next March

Patch to coincide with console's European debut

The Sony PlayStation 3 European debut - due to take place in March 2007 - will be accompanied by a major firmware update, a senior Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) Europe executive has revealed.

Alas, SCE Europe VP of Technology Paul Holman, cited by Australian website Smarthouse, didn't say what the update will contain, though he alluded to "new features [and] new gaming capabilities".

Those capabilities look set to enhance the PS3's ability to operate as a media centre system, Holman indicated, and may even include utilities to allow the next-generation console to download alternative operating systems. At least one Linux distribution has already been announced for the console.

Since the PS3 launched in the US and Japan last month, a number of issues have emerged, including incompatibilities with some older PS2 and PSOne games, and problems driving HD TVs that support the 1080i resolution rather than the 720p and 1080p resolutions the PS3 favours. Sony has hinted that fixes for these glitches are in the works, but provided no indication when a patch might be made available. ®